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He reached the capital the following morning.

The trip took a lot out of him. By the time he reached the inn, Krux was barely awake enough to hand over payment for two nights. Once he was shown to his room, he passed out for the remainder of the day, waking up after the sun had set.

Well, that was fine. Krux got out of bed, went through his things to make sure they were all accounted for, and mentally ran through his plan.

Aura was masquerading as a niece of Ryou, who, as the former Master of Earth, could grant her access to the emperor's palace. She had been there for about two weeks now, and was sending reports on her status and the status of the war in coded letters to her "uncle."

Arcturus told Krux that her latest report had been concerning: Ryou's daughter, Lilly, had been called to the capital, and while she wasn't due to arrive for days yet, she would recognize Aura as of no relation to the Earth bloodline. Lilly knew nothing of Master Chen's plan, and hadn't had contact with her father for years–Aura had to complete her mission before Lilly arrived.

What the mission was, Krux had no idea. "Aura will tell you if you need to know," Arcturus said. "At least, I can hope."

Regardless, once Aura completed her mission, Krux would extract her and bring her back to Chen's camp.

He knew Aura was staying in the Master of Earth's quarters, but getting into the palace would be difficult. Krux had no plans to return as the Master of Time, but other than sneaking in–which could get him killed–he had no other means of entry.

He sighed. Maybe a walk outside would clear his head.

He reapplied his disguise and left the inn. The capital was quiet in the evenings, though there were still a handful of people on the streets. Some were alone, like him, but others were clustered in small groups. Krux took a deep breath of the cool air and stared up at the stars.

"Sander?"

He stopped walking.

The woman spoke briefly to the younger man she was with and crossed the street towards him. "That is you, right?" she said, a hard edge to her tone. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Sable," Krux said, his heart pounding. "I haven't had the chance to thank you for your help the last time we met."

Sable shrugged. "That? That was for Mel. You don't owe me anything." Her face fell into a frown. "So what are you doing here? Did you tell Mel you were leaving?"

"I didn't get the chance to, no," Krux said. "You must know how it is."

"Actually," said Sable, "I don't know anything about you. Mel tells me you're a private person, but what that really means is you're not even being honest with him." She lowered her voice. "What's your business with my friend, Master of Time?"

Krux's eyes widened. "How did you–?"

The other man appeared next to him, materializing out of the shadows. With a jolt, Krux recognized the young Master of Shadow. The man had dark skin with an unnaturally ashy hue, and he eyed Krux with suspicion. "Your disguise may have worked further from the capital," he said, "but it's not going to get you far here. What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" Krux took a step back. "Why the hostility? Yes, I have secrets to keep, but I don't mean you any harm–or Mel, for that matter." Krux eyed the similarity in Sable and the man's faces. "Does he know your son is the Master of Shadow?"

"Of course," Sable said. "How much does he know about you?"

"He knows enough not to dig for more." Krux sighed. "Really, this is unreasonable. Mel will not be harmed by my actions here, or be affected by them at all, thank goodness. If you don't tell him my true identity, we have nothing to worry about."

The Master of Shadow frowned. "Mom, he hasn't done anything wrong," he said.

"We don't know that," Sable said, but her voice had lost much of its harsh tone.

He shrugged. "Technically speaking, he used his powers on the emperor and disobeyed his orders to kill innocent children–but the emperor wasn't hurt, there are no orders to punish him, and the only people who still think twins bring bad luck are old farts."

"Good grief, Shade, you know it's more complex than that."

Krux didn't know the Master of Shadow very well–he was only a boy when Krux fled the capital–but he was clearly only confronting him because of his mother. "If you must know," Krux said, "I am here to find someone very important to me. Mel can tell you–I've been searching ever since I met him." He gave Sable a half-smile. "I am sorry I didn't get to say goodbye. Mel is a dear friend of mine, just as he is to you.

Sable looked from Krux to her son. "Right," she said. "Sorry, but… as you said, you know how it is. It was hard enough for Mel to trust me when I was an elemental master. When Shade recognized you, I assumed the worst."

Krux tilted his head. "Was Donny not also an elemental master?"

"Oh, sure," Sable said, "but the emperor hated him. I tried so hard to listen to my parents when they told me not to be like Donny, who had made himself an outcast in the empire he was supposed to fight for." She shook her head. "Honestly, I'd thought your parents told you the same thing. Your father, anyway."

"My father…" Krux hesitated. "…he had other concerns."

Sable nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, do you have any plans tonight? I was going to get drinks with a friend, but she had to cancel."

"I would," Krux said, "but apparently my disguise isn't good enough. I can't risk being brought before the emperor."

"He may not care," Shade said. "You wouldn't know, since you've been hiding in some dumpy village–"

"Shade!"

"–but there's unrest in the capital. The emperor is not as liked as he once was, and the people don't care about any twins when war is coming." Shade rolled his eyes. "You could walk right into the throne room and His Majesty would humble himself before you if it meant you'd fight on his side."

Before Krux could answer, Sable spoke up. "That's not a guarantee," she said. "You want a better disguise? I can help."

Krux raised an eyebrow. "You can disguise me?"

"'Course. I used to help Mel with his routine, I can make you unrecognizable." Sable cracked a smile. "You want to look like a man, woman, or something else?"

"I, uh…" Krux mentally floundered for a response.

Sable laughed. "Where are you staying?"

---

Krux decided to allow Sable in his room at the inn; he had nothing obviously incriminating among his possessions, and Arcturus' letter was buried deep in his pack. He showed her the makeup he had brought for his disguise; Sable looked at it and tsked.

"This is it?" she said. "This is barely anything. No wonder Shade recognized you."

Shade sighed. "Mom, just because–"

"Not a word from you." Sable grabbed Krux's shoulders and sat him down in front of a mirror. "You haven't told me what you want to look like," she said.

"A man," Krux said quickly. "I… obviously. Why would I be anything else?"

"Sure, sure." Sable picked up a brush. "Any other preferences?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Good."

The process took longer than he was used to. Sable talked out loud as she applied the disguise, explaining what she was doing and how she was doing it. "You'll need this for other nights, right?" she said. "I'm going home tomorrow. I can't hold your hand through this?"

Krux tried to nod in response. Sable grabbed his chin. "Don't move your head."

Shade kept to himself. Krux saw him sitting in a corner writing something in a book. He paid him no mind.

Eventually, Sable stepped away. "Done," she said. "Is it to your liking?"

Krux squinted at himself. "It's fine," he said. "It'll work."

"No other comment?" Sable turned to her son. "Shade, what do you think?"

"He looks fine," Shade said, keeping his head down.

"You're not even looking!"

"It's just a disguise, Mom. I'm sure you did a great job."

"He never pays attention to me," Sable said to Krux. "Never!"

"That's… a shame." Krux moved to stand up. "Thank you for your help," he said. "I should get going."

Sable nodded. "Finally meeting whoever you've been searching for, huh?"

The thought made him dizzy. "Yes."

"Then we'll make our leave as well." Sable turned to Shade. "Let's go. We'll need to wake up early to fetch Lilly, and–"

"Lilly?!" Krux blurted out.

Both Shade and Sable gave him an odd look. "Yes," Sable said. "Do you know her? The Master of Earth. Former, anyhow."

"I–" When Lilly came to the capital, she would see right through Aura's false identity. Krux's head spun. "I've heard of her," he said. "Sorry, I was just–surprised. It's not a problem."

Sable frowned, but didn't argue. "Alright," she said. "I'll see you around, Krux. Or Sander?"

"Krux is fine." His hands shook. "When we meet again, Sable."

Shortly after they were gone, Krux wiped his face clean, tucked Arcturus' letter in his cloak, and left.

---

The guards frowned, keeping their spears pointed at him. "You say you're the Master of Time?"

"Yes," Krux said, a hard edge to his tone. "I understand it's late at night, and the emperor will not be able to speak with me, but I would like to stay in my room at the palace."

"It's been years since the Master of Time fled the palace," the other guard said. "Why should we believe you?"

Krux rolled his eyes and picked a pebble off the ground. He called on his powers the same time he tossed it in the air, freezing it in time before it had begun to fall. "I could pause one of you as well," he said, "but, though it's harmless, it may have been… alarming."

One of the guards nodded. The other withdrew his spear and ducked through the gate to the palace.

"Why are you here?" the first guard said. "Do you really think you can simply return without a problem after so long?"

"No," Krux said, "which is why I am requesting audience with the emperor in the morning. He will decide whether I stay." He paused. "As for why? I may disagree with the emperor on some issues, but I will not abandon Ninjago under threat of war. I came to fight for the empire against the serpentine."

"I see," the guard said, and said nothing further.

The other guard returned with two more accompanying. "You may have your room for the night," he said. "However, it is requested you wear this."

He held up a vengestone cuff. Krux grimaced, but he was in no position to refuse. "Very well," he said. "Lead the way."

---

There was a light on in the Master of Earth's quarters, glowing faintly under the door. It took all of Krux's self control not to falter as they walked past. Aura was in there, he thought. Aura, Acronix, whatever name she went by–his twin was on the other side of the door and he had to keep his face expressionless and keep walking.

There were three doors between her and his own quarters. "We will be standing watch," the guard informed him. "Do not attempt to leave, and do not attempt to remove your binds."

Krux rubbed the wrist the vengestone was on. "Of course," he said. "And the emperor will see me in the morning?"

"He will consider it."

"That's all I need."

He stepped inside and the door closed behind him. Krux looked around his empty room.

He hadn't expected the vengestone. Since it nullified his powers, his plan, insofar as he had one, would have to change. Krux picked at the cuff, wondering if he could get it off, but soon gave up the effort.

He eyed the window instead.

The window was fairly high up the wall, but if he moved a chair over, he could reach it. Even though the glass panels opened, they were each too small to fit through–but if he got the whole frame out…

Krux placed the chair under the window and climbed up to examine it. Thank heavens, his room hadn't been maintained in the years he was gone; some of the wood was rotting. The frame shifted when he pushed on it. Krux pushed harder, then harder still.

The bottom half of the frame snapped out of the wall. The top half broke off before he could catch it and fell. Krux winced at the distant crash of shattering glass.

No time to waste. Krux pulled himself through the window.

He found few footholds in the outside wall. His heart pounding, he inched himself across the wall. Three windows between his quarters and that of the Earth family, and he had only made it past the first one. Krux clenched his jaw and kept going.

He glanced down at the ground, but it was too dark to see. Surely someone would investigate the broken window.

He reached the second window, leaving only one more between him and his destination. His arms ached already. Krux knew a fall from this height wouldn't kill him, but it wouldn't leave him in a good position, either. He put his hand on the sill of the third window and pulled himself forward. He was so close. He was *so close.*

The light was still on in the Master of Earth's room. Krux dangled from the window and pressed himself against the wall. Without the strength to pull himself up, he couldn't see through the window, but he would have to manage. With a deep breath, he raised one hand to knock on the glass.

"Hello?"

Krux's breath caught in his throat.

He couldn't raise himself up to see through the window, but he could hear someone moving inside. Aura's voice–it had to be her, she sounded so much like him. She had a deeper voice than most women, but, well, that wasn't unexpected. Krux summoned all his will and knocked again.

"Aura," he said, as loud as he dared.

Aura lowered her voice. "How do you know that name?" she hissed. She may have been a human, but Krux wondered if being raised by serpentine gave her the venom in her tone. "Who are you? Where are you?"

"I have a letter from your father," Krux said. "I–I'm at the window."

"My father?" Aura's voice softened. "You're from Chen's camp."

Krux dug in his cloak for the letter, but when he tried to pass it through, he bumped into the glass. "Can you–?"

The window opened. He felt Aura's fingers brush his as she took the letter. "This is his," she said quietly. Then, louder, "Can you get through the window?"

"No, I can't–" Krux gripped the windowsill with both hands. Damn him, he was too tired from the climb to pull himself up. "Aura, Lilly is arriving in the morning. Whatever your mission is, you have to do it now."

"So soon?" Aura said in alarm. "I thought I had more time!"

"Aura, listen." Krux adjusted his grip. "You're–you're a twin, right?"

"Yes? Is that important?"

"Yes," Krux said. "Yes, yes, it is. I–" His fingers were slipping. "I was a grown man before I learned I had a twin. I searched for years, exhausted every lead–" He needed to get to the point. Krux floundered for words.

"Who are you?" Aura asked.

"Krux," he said. "My name is Krux, Master of Time." He tried to find a better foothold, but there was nothing. "My mother died when I was born. Her final wish was for both her children to live. Before she died, she named us." He was going to fall. "Krux and Acronix."

Aura gasped. "You're my–"

He fell.

The fall didn't kill him, but the landing hurt. Krux crashed into the bushes and couldn't keep in a cry of pain. He clawed his way out of the branches and onto the grass, his body aching.

He would have been content to lie there, but rough hands grabbed him and forced him to his feet. A bright light shone in his face while a guard shouted at him. Krux closed his eyes and didn't struggle as he was led away.